## Ch-107.
—
The three who entered the inn drew a brief pause of attention.
One woman, two men.
The weather was not particularly sunny, yet all three wore wide bamboo hats pulled low, obscuring their faces—and even after entering the inn, they showed no intention of removing them.
Among martial artists, such appearances were not uncommon.
There were many reasons to hide one’s face—stories that must not be shown, being pursued, pursuing someone else, and so on.
“Welcome.”
Still, the Yonghwa Inn did not discriminate among its guests.
At present, the Yonghwa Inn was a business establishment of the Yicheon Sword Sect, which reigned as the dominant power of this region. The proprietor was a lay disciple, the guards employed were of high caliber, and even among the patrons there were several martial artists.
If someone caused trouble here, they would be subdued immediately and become a laughingstock.
“Is there a table available?”
“The window seats facing Yonghwa Lake are already full.”
“That’s what they say. What shall we do?”
Yuri glanced back.
He had been the one persuaded to come because the view from this inn was supposedly magnificent, yet Haryeong looked entirely unconcerned.
“Since we’ve come this far, let’s at least eat before we leave.”
A few days earlier, they had visited Jeongyeon Inn in Dunjeong.
Unlike the great western cities where most of the population gathered into a single metropolis representing the region, in the East there were several cities of similar size within a single region.
The Faceless Killer had not specified the city’s exact name—only told them to go to Dunjeong and find Jeongyeon Inn.
In hindsight, it had been maddeningly vague.
Thanks to Haryeong, however, they had located it more easily than expected.
They had met the attendant Uchil—but not Fist Wolf.
They were told to return in ten days.
Pressing the matter would not make him appear, so they had simply agreed and left.
They had considered staying in Dunjeong for the ten days—but with time to spare, someone suggested sightseeing nearby.
Thus they had come to Yonghwa Lake.
It was said to be the finest scenic spot in Dunjeong.
Unfortunately, none of the three—including Yuri—were refined enough to be deeply moved by landscapes.
Still, since they had traveled this far and had time to spare, they had leisurely toured Yonghwa Lake and the nearby village since yesterday.
“They say the food here is excellent.”
Eat while admiring beautiful scenery, drink some wine.
They had seen enough scenery already; there was no lingering attachment.
After ordering and taking their seats, Haryeong removed her hat and shook out her hair.
“Did I really need to wear a hat as well?”
“If you trace it back, all this trouble stems from Lady Haryeong’s noble status, does it not?”
“I disagree. Wherever we go, it’s Estor’s blond hair that draws attention.”
“There are other blondes in this inn, aren’t there?”
Estor protested, glancing longingly at the dishes on nearby tables and swallowing.
“Still, you stand out. Either dye it or shave it.”
Fortunately, Yuri had black hair.
“Blond hair and blue eyes prove the blood of the Orsia family. I am proud of my blood. I have committed no crime that I must hide. Why should I change my hair or shave my head?”
“Then you alone keep wearing the hat.”
In truth, the attention they drew was not solely Estor’s fault.
One Eastern woman, two Western men. Add distinctive appearances to that—and anyone attuned to rumors would recognize them at once.
“Look at them.”
“Could they be… the rumored Dark Flower’s party?”
Even now, that was happening.
Though Yonghwa Inn was a scenic landmark frequently visited by dignitaries, the moment they removed their hats, gazes converged from all directions.
“See? Everyone’s looking.”
“It’s not like we’re criminals.”
On Earth, no one had recognized him even at school. Yuri found such attention unfamiliar and itchy—but Estor had lived his entire life under the spotlight.
As if accustomed, he even waved to the room.
“I am Sword Dragon Estor Orsia. A pleasure.”
He was the type who would loudly proclaim his epithet and name even in the midst of a heretical gathering.
Yuri grimaced and shifted his seat slightly away.
“I am Dark Flower Haryeong. May I ask—does anyone here bear a grudge against the Tang Clan?”
Glancing at Yuri, who looked awkward alone, Haryeong raised her voice as well.
“For the record, though I am of the Tang Clan, I am not particularly close with them. So please do not vent your grievances against them upon me.”
Having inadvertently turned it into introductions one by one, the room’s attention naturally shifted to Yuri.
Feeling as though thorns had sprouted inside his mouth, Yuri cleared his throat.
“I am Cloud Dragon Yuri. Ah… I look forward to your acquaintance.”
The moment he said it, he regretted it.
These were mere fellow guests, unlikely ever to meet again—what acquaintance was he looking forward to?
He sipped his tea, embarrassed.
“Forgive us for not recognizing the young heroes sooner!”
Instead of food, the attendant came rushing over.
“A far superior seat has just been prepared. Would you care to move?”
Barely five minutes had passed since they were seated—and already a new table was free?
“Fortunate.”
Estor grinned broadly, clearly believing it mere luck.
They were guided to a private room on the top floor, with a sweeping view of Yonghwa Lake.
“They said it was just cleaned, yet there’s no smell of food at all. Spotless.”
“As expected of the finest inn in the area… such skill rivals the attendants of my family.”
Yuri had meant it sarcastically—but Estor spoke with genuine admiration.
“So, what happened?”
After some time, dishes were brought.
Haryeong picked up a chunk of fish with her chopsticks.
“What are you referring to?”
“You visited the village’s Adventurers’ Guild yesterday as well.”
Yuri’s chopsticks froze.
“At this point, I doubt you’re beginning a new life as an adventurer. You’re using the postal counter, are you not?”
There were various methods to send letters besides the postal service—but for adventurers without fixed residences, using the Guild’s postal counter was common.
The Guild did not deliver letters; it held them and communicated via magic with other regional Guild Houses.
The Beggars’ Sect and Hao Clan operated similarly—gathering information across regions and sharing it magically.
“The postal counter? Letters?”
Estor tilted his head after swallowing a mouthful.
“With whom are you exchanging letters? Don’t tell me… you’re reporting my private life to the Family Head?”
“It would be Lady Elena.”
Wine filled the empty cup.
“You avoided the topic of Lady Elena diligently before. Have you decided otherwise now?”
“Yes.”
“You’re rather late.”
“They say the best time to start is when you think it’s late.”
“If it’s late, it’s late. What nonsense about ‘best time’… Why send a letter instead of going yourself?”
“Before going, it is proper to ask permission to do so.”
“Since when did you become so courteous? Just admit you were afraid of being turned away.”
Haryeong clicked her tongue openly and sipped her wine.
Her crooked tone made Yuri’s posture equally crooked.
Pouring wine into his own cup, he retorted,
“Why did you leave Lady Elena?”
“Because I could not meet the expectations she placed upon me.”
“What expectations?”
“I am not the young lady’s family. Not her sister, nor her mother, nor her aunt.”
It was a story Yuri did not know.
So Estor refrained from intervening and instead turned his chair toward the window.
From this height, Yonghwa Lake was indeed magnificent.
The wine tasted good.
A splendid view and fine liquor—together, they stirred a desire to compose poetry.
“And yet, she expected that of me. She expected me to clean up after her at all times, to offer proper comfort whenever she was distressed.”
“…”
“As I said, I am not her family. I do not wish to weigh misfortunes—but my life, too, has been sufficiently miserable and tragic. And yet, before me, she acted as though she were the heroine of the greatest tragedy in the world.”
Haryeong’s expression faltered slightly.
She furrowed her brows and poured more wine into her cup.
“I am an assassin with patience, bound by contract. If the young lady had ordered me to play such a role, I would have obeyed without complaint. But she asked me to remain by her side as a ‘friend.’”
The wine filled the cup to the brim, yet not a single drop spilled. It all flowed neatly into Haryeong’s mouth.
“So I left.”
Had she remained, that dependence would have twisted them both.
It was a relationship that would help neither.
Precisely because there was affection, she made that decision.
“Perhaps my leaving caused the young lady great pain. But had I stayed out of consideration for that, I would not have been able to live my own life. Are you satisfied with my answer?”
“Let’s just say both sides lacked consideration.”
Yuri looked at her with a sullen face, then filled her empty cup and set the bottle down.
Haryeong, wearing a similar expression, refilled Yuri’s cup in turn.
“Give me a drink as well.”
Estor, who had been gazing at the scenery and pondering poetry to avoid a conversation he didn’t understand, gave up and held out his cup.
“For the young lady.”
At the sudden toast, Yuri’s eyes trembled faintly.
“For the smooth reconciliation between the young lady and Lord Yuri.”
When Yuri did not respond, Haryeong, who did not know how to give up, stood and declared the toast outright.
Grinding his teeth, Yuri rose as well and accepted it.
“For the eternal friendship between Elena and Lady Haryeong.”
This time, Haryeong’s lips twitched.
Estor, who had been silently watching, also stood. Looking out at the splendid view of Yonghwa Lake beyond the window, he added his own toast.
“For the peace of this world.”
With Yonghwa Lake as their backdrop, they recited their toasts and shared their drinks.
Knock knock.
Someone tapped on the door.
“….”
The presence beyond the door was not unfamiliar.
Haryeong and Estor’s expressions twisted at once.
Knock knock.
At the second sound, Yuri answered.
“No business.”
“Fuck off.”
Haryeong added bluntly.
After a brief silence, the door opened.
Tang Seou in a black qipao, holding a parasol.
Tang Seojin, struggling to smooth his hostile expression.
Behind them stood Tang Museok, as indifferent as ever.
Tang Seojin’s chest boiled with black venom he longed to spit out—but he restrained himself and clasped his fists toward Yuri.
“We heard that the renowned Three Heroes were here and came to pay our respects.”
Since Panteleon, they had tangled with heretics and fought together, and even crossed the continent as a group—thus the three were dubbed the Three Heroes.
Yuri dropped back into his chair and sighed deeply.
“What is it now?”
“Must you be so wary?”
Tang Seou forced a smile.
“We have no intention of forcibly taking you back to the Tang Clan. If we did, surely you know we could have done so long ago.”
“Yeah, fuck off.”
Haryeong also sat heavily and poured more wine.
“If you’re not here to drag me by force, did you come to beg me to return?”
“I, Tang Seou, pay my respects to Aunt Tang Yuryun.”
Her forced smile trembled at every ‘fuck off.’
“We did not come to beg. Merely…”
“Don’t tell me you’re about to claim you happened to come admire Yonghwa Lake and coincidentally ran into us.”
“Yonghwa Lake is indeed beautiful.”
Yuri sneered; Estor nodded at the lake as if in agreement.
“You wouldn’t speak of coincidence after coming all the way here from Guangxi. Surely the Black Obsidian Flower of the Tang Clan would not use such a foolish excuse.”
“Sir. Fate is truly mysterious and wondrous. They say even brushing sleeves is fate.”
“Our sleeves have never brushed.”
“Oh? But your sleeve brushed my brother’s, did it not?”
“More fists than sleeves.”
Yuri snorted and clasped his fists toward Tang Seojin.
Tang Seojin returned the gesture with a strained smile.
“More than sleeves. That day we strengthened camaraderie through a spar.”
“I learned much from it.”
Was it just his imagination, or did those words sound like deliberate mockery?
“So, fuck off—why exactly are you clinging to us all the way here? I heard your whereabouts became unclear after Guangxi. Did my ‘brother’ from the Tang Clan give you some new order?”
“No.”
Tang Seojin answered in place of his sister.
“The Family Head merely said… since Aunt… declined, so be it.”
“Then why are you pestering this aunt of yours?”
Tang Seojin pressed his lips together.
Tang Seou maintained her forced smile, saying nothing.
Behind them, Tang Museok let out a short sigh.
“The assassins of the Salho gate have all returned. The two of them act not by the main family’s will, but of their own accord.”
“Ah. So these troublemakers are trailing after this aunt hoping for praise from my brother? How pointless. Do you think that snake wearing human skin will look kindly upon you for deeds he didn’t order?”
Haryeong idly swirled her empty cup.
Tang Seou’s smile collapsed.
“Your words… go too far. To dare speak of the Tang Clan’s Family Head—!”
“He is my brother before he is Family Head. Few things are more natural than a younger sister cursing her elder brother. Tang Seou, didn’t you complain about Tang Seojin in front of me countless times when you were younger?”
“You…!”
Tang Seou’s patience plummeted.
Her eyes tinged with green poison.
Startled, Tang Seojin grabbed her wrist.
“Seou, endure it. This is Yonghwa Inn. A business of the Yicheon Sword Sect.”
“So even you, arrogant with the Tang Clan and the Salho gate at your back, fear the name of Yicheon? Or is it the Silver Martial Empress, sworn sibling of its Sect Master, whom you fear?”
“You lowborn—! Daughter of a ghost wearing human skin—!”
At Tang Seou’s trembling insult, Yuri stepped forward and stood before her.
The insult applied to him as well.
Under his descending gaze, Tang Seou’s shoulders flinched.
Tang Seojin’s eyes hardened, glaring back.
“Care to exchange once more?”
“…Sir, you seem overly confident from that spar.”
Tang Seojin’s lips twisted.
Estor had already grasped his sword, as if expecting this.
‘Heavens, what sin did I commit to be cleaning up after these thunderstruck siblings at my age?’
Tang Museok sighed, even invoking gods he did not believe in.
“…?”
His eyes suddenly widened.
Across the window lay the magnificent view of Yonghwa Lake.
On the far side of the vast waters, a red dot appeared.
It was not the sun—there was no reason for the sun to be there.
Tang Museok blinked, focusing his sight.
“…!”
His mouth fell open.
For the Death Chasing Ghost to look so shocked was rare.
The Tang siblings, startled, set aside their hostility and looked outside.
“Uh…?”
The red dot was drawing closer.
Yuri, seated with his back to the window, did not understand their reaction.
“What?”
He turned.
—KWA-A-A-A-A!
Something crashed into the center of the lake.
